Let's Talk Trash

In Legume, I try to emphasize reducing waste overall. We've done a lot of work on plastics so far, and for good reason. In 2018, Americans produced 35.68 million tons of plastic. But that was only 12.20% of Municipal Solid Waste produced that year; what else is there?

First, let me give you a definition. Municipal Solid Waste is, generally, trash from the public or the consumer. Most of the time it does not include industrial, agricultural, medical, radioactive, and sewage waste.

Secondly, notice how I said "produced." In 2018, Americans produced 35.68 million tons of plastic. How much did we throw away?

Well. That's complicated.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approximately 146.1 million tons of MSW was landfilled in 2018. I've made a handy dandy chart below to show you how that number breaks down into a couple of categories (keep in mind it's 2021. How have these numbers changed since then?)

Also, notice anything about this graph? Those percentages don't add up to 100. That's only because I didn't have enough room to put all of them on the graph, but here are all of the categories listed in order:

Food - 35.28 million (35,280,000) tons

Plastic - 26.97 million (26,970,000) tons

Paper - 17.22 million (17,220,000) tons

Metals - 13.93 million (13,930,000) tons

Wood - 12.15 million (12,150,000) tons

Textiles - 11.3 million (11,30,000) tons

Yard Debris - 10.53 million (10,530,000) tons

Glass - 7.55 million (7,550,000) tons

Rubber/Leather - 4.99 million (4,990,000) tons

Miscellaneous - 3.27 million (3,270,000) tons

Other - 2.93 million (2,930,000) tons

I understand that looking at big numbers like this in a list is desensitizing to a degree, but think about it like this: the weight of the smallest category is about eight times the weight of the Empire State Building.

These are the numbers for MSW sent to landfills. These made up about 50% of MSW produced in 2018. So where does the rest of it go?

The good news is, 69 million tons of MSW were recycled and 25 million tons were composted. That makes up about 32%, 94 million tons, of MSW generated. Energy Recovery from Combustion (i.e. blowing things up to make heat/electricity/fuel) took up another 11.8% of MSW, and the rest was handled through food management.

Now, these numbers are big and all, but we have to look at trends to really see what's going on.

I am not a statistician. So I will keep this as simple as possible, for your sake and mine.

Here's my question: since MSW production has increased over the years, who's to blame?

A post WWII ad promoting the use of disposable packaging. Can you see how perspectives change over time?

In 1960, the population of the U.S. was approximately 180.7 million, while MSW generation was approximately 88.12 million tons. This means that the average American in 1960 produced ~0.487 tons of trash per year.

In 2018, the population of the U.S. was approximately 327.2 million, while MSW generation was approximately 292.4 million tons. Can the rise in MSW generation be explained by a larger population?

Sadly, no. These numbers mean that the average American in 2018 produced ~0.894 tons of trash per year. That's just about a ~45% increase from 1960. If the increase in MSW production could truly be explained away by a larger population, the average American in 1960 and 2018 would produce the same amount of trash per year. While my methods are elementary, the calculations show such a large increase that it's impossible to discount it.

Is this your fault? No, I don't think so. We've been inundated with such a large amount of products/technologies/fashions that it seems only natural to buy something, use it a few times, then throw it away. This isn't a good thing, but it's generally not a conscious choice on the consumer's part.

However, we, the voters, have also pushed for recycling programs and MSW management to deal with this. That is arguably one of the biggest reasons why we have these programs today. Recycling rates have increased over the years. Employment in recycling is rising, more ways to recycle are constantly being developed, and there are even new hobbies emerging to help recycle directly from your house (ex. making your own paper).

Your efforts are not insignificant. Recycling is an important way to reduce waste.

But there's something missing here. Can you guess what it is?

Let me give you a hint. What's the definition of MSW again?

That's right. All of these numbers, all of the recycling, all of the composting, is just trash from the consumer, from the people, from everyday life. What about industrial waste? Agricultural waste?

As it turns out, that's a pretty hard question to answer. Industrial waste isn't tracked like MSW. The only estimate available, to my knowledge, is from the 1980s. But even then, the amount of industrial waste was estimated to be 7.6 billion tons per year. That's just about 50 times more than the MSW produced in 1980, about 151.64 million tons. As with MSW, the amount of industrial waste has most definitely increased over the years, but we don't have a definitive answer as to how much. The most commonly stated parameter is a ratio of 3 to 97, MSW to industrial waste. This could be wildly inaccurate, or it could be just about correct. Who knows? Certainly not me.

Perhaps that could be a personal research project for one of you. Can you find some information on industrial waste? Enough to create an estimated ratio of MSW to industrial waste? If you can, make sure to comment or send me a message. That ratio will be put at the top of this article.

Industrial waste is any byproduct or material created deemed unneeded or disposable by manufacturing processes. This could include contaminated water, metals, chemicals, wood, silt, etc., all of which have catastrophic effects on the environment, especially in large quantities.

We all know about International Paper Co.'s paper mill in Cantonment. Just last year, it was fined $190,000 and was ordered to implement a $1 million environmental mitigation project along with $10,000 fines every time they failed a water quality test. What does that mean? The paper mill's industrial waste wasn't following environmental guidelines, polluting nearby water and land with wastewater that consistently exceeded state restrictions. It is not entirely clear whether the paper mill will follow their new guidelines. Guidelines certainly haven't stopped industry in the past.

But don't lose hope.

The paper mill is just one example of industries attempting to take steps towards better environmental policies. Though not equal across the board, there is an upward trend, and it could be promising. Pensacola's Plant Crist just switched completely to natural gas instead of coal, which could reduce the plant's carbon emissions by 40%.

The important thing here is to keep listening. Keep your eyes out for updates. Look them up if you can't see anything. Send a little message to these industries and ask about their waste management policies and what they're doing to reduce or treat industrial waste. It might feel weird to email them for what seems like a small thing, but it's important to show your interest.

If you don't show your interest, change will be slow, if it'll happen at all. We have to be able to ask about industrial waste, ask about policies, ask or demand better management. Like I said earlier, a big reason we got MSW management and recycling policies was because voters pushed for them. Sure, MSW management isn't perfect, but it's improving over time. The only way we can make sure that happens for industrial waste too is by doing the same thing. Ask for it. Demand it. Vote for it. Ask your mayors, your governors, your senators about it. The more public interest (or pressure), the more chances there are that these policies will actually pass.

Pensacola's sustainability coordinator is Mark Jackson. While his contact information does not seem to be listed on Pensacola's website, here is the city of Pensacola email: pio@cityofpensacola.com.

Ask for information on how much industrial waste there is. Ask the EPA to start tracking industrial waste like it does MSW. If that ratio, 3:97, is even remotely accurate, industrial waste is a far bigger problem than it seems to be in the public mind.

I'll say it again. Your efforts are not insignificant. Your efforts in recycling, reusing, reducing the amount of things you use. They all have an effect. Your efforts do matter, and they do amount to something.

But we do have to remember that waste management is not just about the consumer or the individual. Look at the bigger sources of waste. Do you know how much there is? What they do to treat it? Where it goes? I implore you. Try to find out. Try to support waste management policies. Send a short (I'm talking one sentence minimum) message to your local, state, or even federal government asking about policies. If we want this change to happen, we need to bring attention to it. Shine a light on it so big that careless industries can no longer look away.

TL;DR - Be loud. Be curious. Find out about industrial waste and support policies that push for tracking its production and disposal.

In the meantime, I have some things for you to think about to reduce your own trash. Keep in mind that these may not be viable for everyone, but think about each one and see if you can make the right changes in behavior or mindset.

1. Reduce, reduce, reduce - every time you want to buy something on impulse, like a new trinket or a new piece of clothing, wait a few days or a week. After that, come back to the thing you want. If it'll still make you happy and you know that you'll get more than three uses out of it, then consider buying it.

2. Get creative - Find new uses for things that you already have in your house. Learn how to mend socks (it's actually really fun), make rags, alter your clothing, do whatever you can to reduce the amount of things that you throw away without thinking.

3. Share with friends - Do you have something that your friend might want? Exchange objects or clothes with them so you don't have to buy something new. Don't be afraid of getting used or secondhand things (as long as it's safe to do so). Do you have something that you really don't need? Consider donating directly to homeless, LGBT, domestic violence, etc. shelters or organizations like I Support the Girls. Thrift stores are also a good option, but sometimes your clothes might not resell and they get disposed of anyway. If you can make sure your clothes or things will actually get used, that's the best way to get rid of things you don't want but still have use.

Share this article with some of your friends and talk about it! Do you agree with what I've said? Can you do your own research to disprove some of my points? I'm open to discussion, and I encourage all of you to think on data and see if you have another perspective.

Live green!

Here are the links to all of the sources I used to write this article.

Exploring the 3:97 ratio

EPA Facts and Figures for MSW 2018

Industrial vs. Consumer recycling from Stanford Magazine

PNJ State fines on paper mill

City of Pensacola hires Mark Jackson as sustainability coordinator

PNJ Plant Crist converts to natural gas

How to darn socks

I support the Girls Gulf Coast (Facebook page)